The Arewa Consultative Forum Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Baba warns insecurity is worsening nationwide and urges urgent action to avert total breakdown.

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Baba, has warned that Nigeria faces a ‘grave’ and worsening security emergency, cautioning that the country risks ‘returning to the jungle’ if the escalating wave of kidnappings and terrorism is not halted immediately.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Sunday, Baba said the magnitude of banditry, mass abductions and rural attacks has alarmed not only the northern elite but every part of the country.

“It’s very alarming, very concerning. It’s not just the ACF, it’s not just the northern elite. Everyone in the country is very, very worried about the spate of insecurity that has escalated rather than reduced despite allocation of tremendous amount of resources, financial, equipment, manpower, and so on,”he said.

He warned the situation is pushing Nigeria toward a breakdown of social order.

“Life would be very difficult. I mean, we would be returning to the jungle.”

Baba said insecurity now affects “every aspect of life,” listing “productivity, travel, commerce, education, health services, infrastructure — you name it.”

He stressed that the most disturbing sign is the lack of improvement:

“The fact that it does not appear to be improving — rather, we have seen escalation in many places — is something to worry about. The situation is actually, I would describe it as grave. Grave because there seems to be no lining in the sky.”

He said armed criminals now threaten to overrun daily life:

“We hope we are not going to reach a point where, in fact, non-state agents, armed agents, miscreants and so on will take over our lives.”

He added that rural communities, once safer than cities, now suffer the most:

“Some of these crimes used to be urban phenomena, but nowadays, it is people in the rural areas that are actually suffering the most. If everybody has to leave the rural areas, you can only imagine what the repercussions would be.”

Prof. Baba said the ACF raised these concerns in its new 25th anniversary security report.

“The ACF is very, very concerned about this… a special report on the security situation in the north, factors, causes, possible solutions, was prepared by a committee appointed by the ACF and presented to the public yesterday.”

He said the report, produced by experts from the military, police and academia, is “very, very comprehensive,” adding:

“It shows the seriousness with which the Arewa Consultative Forum takes the issue of security… because of the dimension the phenomenon is assuming.”

Baba acknowledged increasing global alarm over Nigeria’s security deterioration.

“We are very concerned and we are very happy that the international community actually has shown concern, has been showing concern about this issue.”

He noted that development partners such as UNICEF and UNDP have long monitored insecurity in the North.

He therefore described US warnings as dramatic but not necessarily the most constructive:

“You can say there is a melodrama in the reaction of the United States… I don’t take that intervention as seriously as I would from countries internationally that have offered help in the past.”

However, he stressed that Nigeria welcomes collaboration not interference.

“By outside intervention, it means the effort of our security agencies and policymakers should be complemented. We don’t expect and we don’t want a foreign country to come and take over our thing. We are responsible for our situation. We are capable.”

He pointed to Nigeria’s strong peacekeeping history:

“Our armed forces… have served in many places in the world. They have served with distinction. And we are saying that it can be done here.”

He emphasised the kind of support Nigeria needs:

“International agencies can help us with training, with intelligence, but especially technology — not with threats… the situation in the country is much more complex than is viewed in certain quarters overseas.”

He insisted the problem is global:

“It’s an international problem… Nigeria should welcome international complementation and collaboration. But we can do it. It’s our problem. We are the first to be affected.”

Prof. Baba blamed weak leadership and failure of governance for the worsening crisis, citing the Constitution’s requirement that the state protect citizens.

“State leadership has failed. Our politics have not measured up… The primary duty of the state is to protect the citizen, to protect life and property. If the state fails to do that, then it is not discharging its responsibilities.”

He said failure to uphold Chapter Two of the Constitution has deepened insecurity:

“It encapsulates one thing — that the state is responsible for measuring resources to guarantee freedom from insecurity, physical insecurity, economic insecurity and so on.”

He further warned that insecurity has taken a dangerous organic turn:

“One of the most unfortunate developments… is the emergence of informants. Insecurity and the factors driving it are becoming organic. They are within communities.”

Solutions must therefore come from the grassroots:

“The solution will have to come from communities, not just government alone, not just the armed forces alone.”

He called for new policies involving local intelligence and public cooperation:

“We have to come up with new policies that will involve the grassroots… enhanced intelligence gathering, processing, storage and usage.”

He cited ACF’s preferred approach:

“We need to deal with this problem from the point of view of the enabling factors… whether it’s a motorcycle mechanic who services their vehicles in the bush, or the health worker that treats injuries — we need to uproot this support system from our communities.”

He said communities must unite against criminal groups:

“We need to isolate the miscreants, the terrorists and the bandits… People need to be mobilised to see this problem as an existential threat.”

And he issued a stark warning:

“If, of course, you cannot move out of your house… or miscreants come, take your daughter, take your wife, do stuff — life will be brutish.” (ARISE NEWS)